Car-coupling



(No Model.)

G. A. GLINE.

OAR COUPLING.

'Nb. 270,390. Patented Jan. 9,1883. M I E GE lq v v WITNESSES: fl -fit;-

UMTED STATES PATENT @rrrcat GEORGE A. GLINE, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 270,390, dated January9, 1883.

Application tiled November 28, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom tt may concern: 7

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. CLINE, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedOar-Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The invention consists in a draw-head in which is pivoted a U-shapedpiece having a long and a short shank, which have hooks at the ends,which U-shaped piece is'pressed in the direction in which the hooksproject by a spring acting on its rear end, whereby when two draw-headsstrike together the hooks will catch on each other and couple the carsautomatically. 1f the cars are to be uncoupled, the hooks ot' theU-shaped piece are moved from each other by turning shafts which are provided with cam-lugs which act on wings at the rear ends of the pivotedU-shaped pieces, and thus press the said U-shaped pieces in the inversedirection of that in which they are pressed by the springs and permitthe U-shaped pieces to be disengaged.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar-letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal elevation of one draw-head andalongitudinal sectional elevation of another, the two draw-heads beingcoupled. Fig. 2 is a plan 'view of the same, one draw-head being shownin horizontal section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the handle-levers at theends of the car, parts being broken out.

Between the top and bottom plate of each draw-head A a U-shaped piece,B, is pivoted to swing in the horizontal plane, which U- shaped piece'isprovided with a shortshank, B, and a1ongshank,B both of which areprovided atthe fl ee ends with lateral hooks, both projecting in thesame direction. Thelong shank B projects through an aperture in the endplate, 0, ofthe draw-head; but the short shank is hehind the end plate,as shown. A spring, D, se-

cuied to the inner end of the draw-head, rests against the inner end ofthe U shaped piece B, and presses the same in the direction in which thehookspi oject. The U-shaped pieceB is provided at its rear end with afixed backwardlyprojecting wing, E. A vertical shaft, F, journaled inthe draw-head behind the pivot of the U-shaped piece B, extends to theroof of the car, and is provided at its upper end with a transversehandle-bar, G. At its lower end, below the bottom of the draw-head, itis provided with a cross-piece H, to the ends of which are pivoted thebars or rods J, extending to the sides of the car.

Between the top and bottom of the drawhcad the shaft F is provided witha cam-lug, P, which is adapted to be pressed against the wing E. Thecorresponding ends of the handle-bars G of the shafts F at opposite endsof the car are connected by a bar or rod, L, under the gang-plank M,sothat both shafts F of acar can be turned together, if desired, andthus the car uncoupled from either end. The draw head is provided'withapertures 0 for the usual coupling-pins in case a link of the usual kindis to be coupled to my improved draw-head.

The operation is as follows: When the drawheads come together each longshank B passes through the opening in the plate 0 of the oppositedraw-head and catches on the hook at the end of the opposite shortshank, B,as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the cars will be coupledautomatically. The U-pieces are held in this position by the springs D,which press each U- piece in the direction in which its hooks project,and as the books on the opposite U-pieces project in opposite directionsthe U pieces will be pressed against each other, and thus will remainlocked. If the cars are to he uncoupled, the shaft Fmust be turnedeither from the top of the car orfrom the sides by dram ing on one ofthe rods J in the direction of the arrows. By turning the shaft in thismanner the free end of the cam-lugP will press against the outer end ofthe wing E, and will thus swing the U-piece in the inverse direction ofthat in which the hooks project, whereby the hooks ot the U-piece' willhe lclQHSGd from each other and the spring D will be compressed. It isevident that the space between the short and long shanks of the U-shapedpieceB must be large enough to admit the hook on the long shank of theopposite U-piece.

As stated above, the handle-bars G at the upper ends of the shalts F areconnected by a rod, L. If the handle-barG at one end of the car isturned to move the U-piece B at that end of the car from the U-piecewith which it has been engaged, the U-piece at the opposite end of thecar will be pressed more firmly against the U-piece with which it isengaged; or, in other words, if a car is uncoupled at one end it will becoupled more firmly at the opposite end.

This lever can also be used to nncouple one end of a car by a person atthe other end of the car.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the draw-head A, of the Ushaped piece B, having a long and a short shank, which U-shaped piece ispivoted in the draw-head to swing laterally, substantially as hereinshown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the draw-head A, of the U-shaped piece B,pivoted in the drawhead to swing laterally,and provided with long andshort shanks havinghooks atthe ends, and with a wing, E, at the rearend, and of the shaft 1 provided with a cam-lug, P, substantially asherein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the draw-head A, of the U-shaped piece B,pivoted therein to swing laterally, and provided with a long and a shortshank having hooks at the ends, the spring D, and the shaft F, providedwith a earn-lug, P, substantially as herein shown and described, and forthe purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the draw-head A, of the U-shaped piece B,pivoted therein to swing laterally, and provided with a long and a shortshank having hooks at the ends, the spring D, the shaft F, provided witha. camlug, P, the handle-bar G, the cross-piece H, and the bars J,substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose setforth.

5. The combination, with the draw-heads A, of the U-shaped piece B,pivoted therein to swing laterally, and provided with a long and a shortshank having hooks at the ends, the spring I), the shaft F, providedwith the camlug P, the handle-bar G, and the rod or bar L, connectingthe handle-bars G at the opposite ends of the car, substantially asherein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

GEORGE A. OLINE.

Witnesses J. R. MAssEY, FRANK H. MASSEY.

